Ventress could feel her body awakening again some time later. How long had it been? She had passed out and woken up again so many times lately that she considered herself lucky if she even got the year right. After Anakin stabbed her, she had put herself into a Sith trance. One of the many things Dooku taught her. It was mainly subconscious, as Ventress couldn't even remember the last four days. She had healed most of her wounds in this trance-days, then. What month was it, though? Last time she remembered formally checking the date was the time before last she passed out, about a week ago. She had kept track of the date from then on, but she had forgotten again-
"Ah!!"
Upon waking herself up, Ventress found that the only thing on her mind was pain. Searing pain. Blinding pain. And she had no idea where it was coming from. She thought she had healed all her wounds! Was there still this much damage…? Ventress instinctively curled herself up into a ball, clenching her teeth together to keep from screaming again. If she was lucky, no one had noticed her, and would just leave her alone. Ventress clutched at her sides, and a small whimper passed through her throat. The pain, the searing pain! It burned her like the acid of a Sarlaac's stomach, but, strangely, the pain was centered in her stomach, not her chest. What had happened after she passed out…?
"Easy now," a female voice whispered. A gentle hand on her shoulder moved her back to lay down, and Ventress found herself unaware that she had even been sitting up to begin with. "Quite the reflexes you have, there," the woman continued. "You can open your eyes, you know. It might help just a little."
Ventress didn't like this woman's sense of sarcasm. Even if it wasn't really sarcasm, it still stung. Ventress slowly opened her eyes, just concentrating on drawing deep breaths and keeping her heartbeat going. In, and out, in and out, in and out…inhaling and exhaling was a chore at this rate. Ventress found her throat burning, but from what, she didn't know. She probably swallowed some bacta…but she wasn't allergic. As far as she knew…well, whatever. Deal with it later. She had probably been panting too much for her throat's good the past few days. Did she really run out of breath this easily, or was it just her injuries again?
Once she got her breathing under control, Ventress tried to-very slowly-open her eyes. At first, all she could see was a blinding flash of white. She gasped in pain, but fought not to close her eyes again. The flash passed, and colors began to assemble themselves. Orange and white were the main colors, but the white here was softer, and it looked more like skin. Blue began to work itself into multiple places…and, beyond that, Ventress was having trouble seeing. But, slowly, after blinking a few times, the room came into focus.
It was a plain room; the walls were a neutral cream, with a window at one end and a door at the other. There was a holorprojector against the opposite wall from where Ventress lay, she guessed on a bed in a medical ward. There was a Togruta sitting next to her, looking like a worried mother in the emergency room after her son fell off his first landspeeder. It took Ventress a second to register the Togruta in front of her-a Jedi! And…no…no, not her, anyone but-
"Shaak Ti!"
Ventress shot back, recoiling with a look of disgust on her face. Her hands immediately went to her waist, searching for her sabers, but two orange hands gently, but firmly caught hers. "Your lightsabers were lost," Shaak Ti said slowly, staring intently into Ventress's icy blue eyes with her own dark sable ones. The liquid pools of coal would drive Ventress mad, she knew, if she looked into them for too long. Shaak Ti's eyes were like pools of quicksand, died black and spiraling ever downward. And the more you struggled, the faster she would pull you under. Ventress tried to struggle against Shaak Ti's oppressive grip, but found herself unable to even put up a decent struggle. "Listen to me," Shaak Ti said slowly still, capturing Ventress again in her ebony gaze. Ventress felt a shiver go down her spine-this Togruta wasn't mortal! Not with that gaze!
"Listen to me," Shaak Ti repeated. "Listen to me, this is the truth. Count Dooku betrayed you. He had you shot as you tried to reach him on the landing platform. You remember that much?" Ventress nodded numbly, stricken by the painful memories. "After that, you went into a subconscious frenzy, just trying to kill everything you saw. You attacked Obi-Wan Kenobi as he tried to save you. Anakin Skywalker killed you by impaling your heart on his lightsaber. Or, so we thought. It turned out, as your "corpse" was brought back to us, that you had put yourself into a Sith trance to heal, and were very much alive. We placed you in bacta to aid your healing. You've only been out for two days so far. By all means, you should have been out for a week. But, you, Ventress, are extraordinary by your connection with the Force. You subconsciously channeled it around you and into you, and healed yourself far faster than even bacta could. Not many can do that. You are on the same level as myself, in that aspect." Shaak Ti paused, waiting for Ventress to absorb this information. Her gaze had averted to her hands, which Shaak Ti still held in her own. She seemed to have calmed down, and nodded slightly at Shaak Ti's pause. The Togruta's orange forehead markings twitched with an awkward imitation of a human's eyebrows furrowing. "Can I trust you enough to let go of you?"
Ventress paused again, then took a glance at Shaak Ti and nodded. Her eyes fell just as quickly, though, and she felt Shaak Ti's cool hands leaving her skin. The Togruta's hands were chilly, almost cold against her feverish skin, and Ventress felt herself shiver as Shaak Ti's touch renewed over her wrists. "Now, may I continue?" Ventress nodded, biting at her lower lip in concern. She wasn't even sure she wanted to hear what was next, but she knew that she needed to know-for rather obvious reasons.
"You are now in the medical ward of the Jedi Temple. Clearly, you know who I am, so I don't have to introduce myself to you. I am guarding you, in the situation that you did wake up. Also, I didn't want you to be moved to the prisons, on account of your wounds and your possible lack of memory. But, that's obviously not a concern. I want to talk with you, and see if we can arrange a compromise. Can you handle that?"
Ventress nodded, and Shaak Ti reached over to a side table, leaning out a bit and picking up several small pieces of metal and plastic from the table. She leaned back over to Ventress and opened her hand, revealing what looked to be computer chips.
"These were implanted in your brain. They amplify rage. Dooku had these surgically implanted in you to see if you could still be of use to him, even after he abandoned you. He knew Obi-Wan and Anakin would find you, and he was hoping your rage at them would be strengthened by these implants-strengthened enough to make you obsessed with the hunt, to kill them at any cost." Shaak Ti looked sad when Ventress looked over at her again-she was staring at the chips as if staring at a bloodied vibro-blade, used to murder in cold blood for no purpose at all. "But, you pushed yourself too far, and overrode the chips. You couldn't feel rage when he betrayed you so-he was hoping for a clean break, so you would never have the chance to feel pain, or suffering." Shaak Ti placed the chips down on the table again, turning away from Ventress for a moment. But a sharp gasp drew her gaze back as fast as she could turn her head.
Ventress was hiding her face in her hands, sharp hitches of breath catching in her throat.
Shaak Ti's gaze immediately softened, and she gently reached over and touched Ventress's hands. "Are you crying?" she asked softly, trying to see if there was still hope for the fallen Sith.
"Kill me!!"
Shaak Ti was taken aback by Ventress's words. She couldn't imagine why Ventress would want to die, especially after she had gone through so much trouble to survive so far. She had lived through so much-why choose the coward's way out now?
"Kill me," Ventress repeated, voice shaking with a mix of terrifying emotions. She was afraid, enraged, depressed, tearful, confused, and she just didn't have any idea what to do. Her hands fell from her face, revealing her running makeup and wide, tear-filled eyes. Ventress practically lunged for Shaak Ti, begging, "I can't live like this! I am nothing!" As she spoke, the tears started to come-at first, welling up in the corners of her eyes, but then spilling down over the dried tear tracks of before. The bacta hadn't been able to remove them, nor the running makeup Ventress was wearing. Traditional Rattataki makeup, Shaak Ti recognized. Even as it ran down Ventress's face in streaks, making it look as if her face was streaked in blood, she didn't look threatening. Her blue eyes were wide, confused, magnified by the tears in front of them-Ventress just looked like a lost little girl. And Shaak Ti held nothing but pity for her.
"I am nothing!" Ventress repeated, struggling to her knees. She turned to face Shaak Ti, hands outstretched, begging for the sweet embrace of death. "I am nothing but hatred given form! I am nothing but bile given form! Fay said it! Skywalker said it! Kenobi said it! Dooku said it! Sidious said it! Say it now! You say it! Say it as you kill me! Rip my heart from my chest, I don't even want you to use a weapon! Please, I don't care how, just take my life! I cannot live as nothing but a tool, to be used and then thrown away like trash when I will get in the way." Ventress's voice had cracked, and now she simply sat, trying to control herself. Shaak Ti sat still as well, but she was trying to comprehend what she had just heard. For a moment, neither woman moved: Shaak Ti out of fear that she would harm Ventress with whatever she did or said, and Ventress, afraid that if she moved, the killing blow would miss, and simply cause her more pain. But still, the instinctive action of her mouth dropping open, her hand coming up to cover it, was too great for the Togruta to ignore. Shaak Ti's bond with the Force allowed her to deeply feel Ventress's emotions-and she felt them overwhelmingly.
"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Ventress finally snapped, tears still flying from desperate eyes. "Go on, take my life! Do it, or I'll do it myself! I'll-I'll bite off my tongue, and drown myself in my own blood-"
"Don't you dare."
Shaak Ti's tone was harsh, and she was suddenly very aggressive. Her hands twitched in her lap, as if dying to execute her next words. Ventress held her ground, however: she did not seem afraid, only deeply upset and disturbed. "If you ever say that again," Shaak Ti growled, "I will restrain you. And I don't care what I have to do, I will force you to live, if only as punishment for saying that. I will tie you down and I will gag you, I do not care. You. Will. Live."
Now, Ventress was the one taken aback. She couldn't possibly wrap her mind around why she would possibly be wanted in this world. Why would someone defend her life so vehemently? Someone who didn't even know her, hell, someone whose entire life was formed around destroying her kind! For the next few minutes, neither moved-still. The stalemate was wearing on Ventress, though; her inability to stare back into Shaak Ti's eyes, suddenly no longer so gentle, was putting her at a severe disadvantage. Her mind, only knowing violence in the past, could not understand why living through such failure, such betrayal, could justify her through till the end.
Ventress broke first.
"Fine," she spat, looking down and away from Shaak Ti. She sat back on her heels, gathering her hands into her lap and simply staring at her fingernails. Blood was gathering under the ragged edges-who had she scratched? Herself? It was feasible, at this rate. Ventress slowly turned over her arms, looking for the injuries. None. Of course. Not even a scar. Then, whose blood was this?
"You did that during your struggle with Obi-Wan. He got one of your hands, and you didn't like it. You drew four vicious scratches across his face."
Ventress sighed, closing her eyes and fighting back more tears. She couldn't even look at her own hands anymore! What was she? Such a monster that couldn't even look in the mirror? Not even her own face that disgusted her-her hands. Hands that had wrought much destruction, and brought much turmoil. Hands that had tortured, had kidnapped, had betrayed, had killed-! Ventress allowed nothing more than a dry sob to escape her throat, nothing more. She had vowed never to show weakness, and now was not the time to start! In the hands of her enemies, in the face of danger, begging for death-disgraceful. But, the more she berated herself for showing weakness, the more weakness began to show. Ventress could feel the hurt welling up in the corners of her eyes, and then spilling over in pearly droplets of sadness. Shaak Ti glanced over at Ventress, worried, and then leaned over to the table again. On it were several folded towels; Shaak Ti had brought them with her to clean the blood from Ventress's body. She had anticipated a much more climactic battle. Now, instead, she touched the towel to Ventress's face, wiping the tears away and trying to comfort her as best she could.
"You're better than him," she whispered, pressing the towel into Ventress's hands. "He couldn't possibly have had a more loyal apprentice than you. And he threw you away. Don't you think that maybe your purposes are better served?"
Ventress didn't answer.
Shaak Ti felt a small bark of laughter escape; it was almost a sound of disgust, but it so closely resembled laughter that there was hardly a difference. "Poor girl," she said softly, looking in the opposite direction from Ventress. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and such was her gaze. "The Sith always betray each other. But I'm sure you've figured that out by now. But, consider this: have you ever, even once, seen a Jedi betray another Jedi?"
Ventress still held her silence.
"Think about that," Shaak Ti said softly, and Ventress felt the Togruta's weight leave the bed. She bit at her lower lip again, and this time, a trickle of blood ran down the chalk white skin of her chin. Ventress let it run for a moment, but then raised the towel to her lips and gently dabbed the blood off. Shaak Ti left her alone in the room, the door sliding closed behind her with a soft hiss of air pressure driving the door closed. Ventress's hands fell to her knees again, and she just sat for a moment, mulling over, in her mind, Shaak Ti's words.
On second thought, she raised the towel to her face again, and wiped off the rest of her frightening Rattataki makeup.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Master Ti!"
Shaak Ti paused in her steps, halfway down the corridor leading away from Ventress's room. She turned around halfway to acknowledge the male behind her. Anakin trotted up to meet her, before falling into step next to the Togruta master. "Well?" he pressed. "The autopsy?"
"Autopsy?" Shaak Ti repeated, pasting a confused look on her face. "Anakin, why would need an autopsy for her? She's still very much alive!"
Anakin froze for a second, but Shaak Ti kept walking. She decided it was best to let him absorb the information at his own pace. She decided, also, that Anakin should be kept away from Ventress-for both of their sakes. Seeing Anakin might invoke Ventress's dark side past, and might cause Anakin to feel emotions he should probably leave alone. The two bore a terrifying vendetta against each other-and the scar across Anakin's left eye said so, too. He was lucky he hadn't lost the eye. Ventress was merciful in letting him keep his life, let alone his eye. But then, had she really intended to hurt him from the beginning? Shaak Ti sighed, hearing Anakin's footsteps finally run up to meet her again.
"What are you talking about?" he growled, trying desperately to keep himself under control. "I speared that witch in from the heart myself-she is dead for good this time, I killed her twice!"
Shaak Ti shook her head. "Sith trance," she said matter-of-factly. Anakin was still floored by this new realization, but at least he was able to walk again. He shook himself a bit, swore once or twice, but said nothing for a moment. Shaak Ti's guess was, he was still taking it all in.
"So?" he finally said. "What are we going to do about her?"
"I'm on my way to a Council meeting strictly about her," Shaak Ti said. "I was just leaving for it when you caught me. She woke up a few minutes ago. And before you ask-" Shaak Ti turned to face Anakin, stopping him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. She held up one finely-boned hand, one finger raised in emphasis. "If you go in there, you share her fate. If you provoke her, you share her fate, doubled. If you dare harm her, in any way, you will be banished from the Order, I will see to it personally. Am. I. Clear?"
Anakin nodded quickly. He had never seen Shaak Ti, of all Jedi, so aggressive! She was normally such a calming presence-she was a healer, a guardian, a permanent fixture on the Council, rumored to be the best blades-being the Order ever produced, basically the epitaph of a perfect Jedi-and now she was scolding him and defending a Sith?! Still, Anakin decided, wisely, to just take her word at face value, and just do whatever she demanded. Question later. Shaak Ti nodded once, and then walked off, headed, presumably, for the Council chamber.
Anakin was left shivering, almost frightened of the Togruta.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Well, Master Ti? The Rattataki?"
Shaak Ti sighed, trying to gather her thoughts in response to Mace Windu's question. He, and most of the other Council members, was partial to killing off Ventress for her past crimes. But, Obi-Wan, Shaak Ti, and Kit Fisto wanted the former Sith to stay, at least for a little while. Plo Koon had jabbed at Kit, asking if he meant to keep Ventress as a pet, and earned himself a decent smack from Shaak Ti-in the form of a Force-thrown piece of fruit that had been her lunch. Shaak Ti retrieved the fruit, also by using the Force, and promptly began to nibble at the flesh of such as the meeting progressed. She could say, easily, that she was in a sour mood. And, of course, the Council's bias was just making it worse. Yoda scolded her for using the Force so frivolously, to which Shaak Ti muttered an apology.
"She asked me-no, begged me-to kill her," Shaak Ti was saying, having edged back into the argument after Yoda's reprimand. "Anyone who can do that deserves a second chance."
"All she's ever known is violence," Obi-Wan pointed out. "She can learn differently."
"If all she's ever known is violence," Mace countered, "how can she ever learn differently?"
"She's not dumb," Shaak Ti said sharply. "We are sitting here, speaking of her as if she is a common animal that has attacked people, and is being debated whether or not to euthanize it to preserve further life. She's not a disease-ridden hound, she's an intelligent being. She has demonstrated that there is a part of her that Dooku has not corrupted."
"That's right," Obi-Wan chimed in. "On the landing platform, she refused to believe that Dooku had abandoned her until her ordered her shot down. He couldn't even do it himself; he had one of Grievous's guards shoot her with a rifle. She then attacked me when I tried to help her-"
"Exactly!" Yoda piped up, his croaking voice cutting through the conversation like a knife. "Dangerous, she is. Knows limits, she does not. Knows self-control, she does not."
"Dooku had her mind tampered with," Kit interjected. "I would know, I witnessed the surgery to take the chips out of her brain. Poor girl-she never had a choice. Dooku did it when he found her trussed up and near dead. He put her in bacta so she would survive when he left, and just be so enraged that she would kill Obi-Wan and Anakin, who were still there."
Yoda gave a soft hum of thought, putting both hands on his gimer stick and bowing his head in thought. "Skillful, she is," he finally said. "Intelligent, she is. Believe she should live, I do, presented with these new facts."
Shaak Ti breathed a sigh of relief. That was one very influential member of the Council convinced. Others were bound to follow suit! And several did. Now, the vote stood at nine to three, with only Plo Koon and two other masters opposed to Ventress living.
"It's not like she'll become a Jedi," Mace said tiredly. "But she can choose to affiliate with us if she wishes. She won't stay here-or she might, if a master can keep her under their wings for a few days."
"She's not going anywhere," Shaak Ti snorted. "Not when she's suicidal like that. And her wounds? Goodness! I've never seen such burns in my life! You would think she was tortured! Anakin couldn't have done this more humanely, hm? As a healer, I could tell even more so the damage to the tissue within her body. She should have remained in the bacta, and I did consider putting her back into it. But, at this rate, I think her body should just heal itself. It wouldn't be worth it to try to convince her to go back in. But, really..."
Obi-wan shot her a glare. "I'm working on it," he mumbled. "You know Anakin is…rash, sometimes. I told him to be a little nicer about it."
Shaak Ti shook her head. "Whatever. My fault; I brought it up. And now, what are we doing about-?"
"Me?"
The door hissed open, and Ventress was revealed, standing in the doorway. Ki-Adi-Mundi, one of the last remaining masters who opposed Ventress's life, leapt for his saber, the blue blade igniting in his hands as he flashed to his feet. "Move no further, girl," she snarled, "lest you move no more!"
"Peace, masters," Shaak Ti growled, jumping to her feet almost as fast. She sounded something like a defensive cat; a big, dangerous cat, like the tigers of legend. Ventress held up one pale, long-fingered hand, taking a step back to show she hadn't meant to intrude.
"Pardon my poor timing, but I do believe I have something of great value to some of you."
"Oh, really?" Mace said, standing up and glaring at Ventress. "What's so important you had to intrude upon a Council meeting?"
A small disk skittered across the floor, landing directly in the middle of the floor.
Ventress glanced at it, and a surge in the dark side of the Force ignited the holoprojector. Made glared at Ventress; Yoda gave her much of the same. The rest of the Council turned their angry eyes to Ventress, who moved as though their hateful stares meant nothing to her. She moved, instead, to stand behind the chair Shaak Ti usually occupied, waiting politely for the Togruta to return. She remained standing, to show her respect. Shaak Ti returned to her seat, and reluctantly, the other masters that had jumped to their feet did the same. Another trigger from Ventress sent the holoprojector playing a recording-a recording of the Jedi's arch nemesis, the ever-elusive Darth Sidious. Obi-Wan's heart leapt to his throat: what forbidden knowledge did this Rattataki Sith possess?
The recording played out.
"Yes, Darth Tyranus-I am Chancellor Palpatine. And those Jedi fools will never figure it out. You see, this entire war-this is just my Golden Opportunity. Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, will be mine-the Jedi Order will be mine, the Republic will be mine, the galaxy will be mine-! Don't you see, Count? This entire war, this entire, beautiful war-nothing but a smokescreen. I will have my victory, no matter the cost!"
The recording ended.
Ventress was smiling slightly when Shaak Ti turned around and stared-just like every other Master in the room. Ventress gave a mocking little bow, raising her hand and calling the holoprojector back.
"Child," Kit gasped, rising slowly to his feet. "You risk death and worse to bring us this information-how-?"
Ventress's smile broadened. "Count Dooku did recognize me as the greatest spy he had ever come across in his time-he almost rejected me as an apprentice, because he thought I was too good a spy to be any good a fighter. But I proved him wrong. Anyway, your Darth Sidious and my Darth Tyranus were having a little rendezvous that they arrogantly excluded me from. Dooku banished me to my room, telling me he would share whatever his master permitted him to. Which was, essentially, nothing, but I was too smart for them. I hid a camera."
"As subtle as a gnat on the wall," Mace muttered incredulously. "I think that settles it, then. Anybody who wants her dead, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Not surprisingly, there were no takers.
A/N: Second part of the three-part fic. Floating around, and I went on a rampage. I typed both chapters one and two in two days flat. O.O I have never been this into a fic before!!